Back in the early 90s, my husband, Lingiam (Lee), retired from the Army and realized that he never wanted to have a boss again. He had recently become a realtor and decided to start a real estate brokerage, which focused on buyer representation. That company, Buyers Advantage Real Estate, initially operated out of our home on Brightleaf Ct, with our cat (Ricochet) often jumping onto his client’s laps. Over the next 15 years, that company expanded to coach hundreds of individuals and families to build wealth through home ownership.
Many of Lee’s clients were Military service members who bought homes in our area and then sold those homes 3 or 4 years later when they were transferred to their next duty station. In 2008, just after the Real Estate market crash, it became difficult for those clients who received relocation orders to sell their homes, as the home values had plummeted so much that they would have needed to bring tens of thousands of dollars to the table in order to sell their homes. After a handful of conversations with those previous clients, Lee realized that many service members would need to keep their homes as rental properties and become “unintentional landlords”. Given that I was already managing several of our investment properties, Lee suggested that we start a property management company, RPM Direct LLC, with me handling the management while he handled the listing of the properties to procure tenants.
Lee’s intuition regarding the need for property management in Prince William County was spot-on. Our company took on new clients every month for the next 12 years. We managed over 400 properties at a time and provided rewarding employment to a diverse group of talented, wonderful people who still feel like family. After graduating from college in 2016, our oldest son, Nathan, joined the business as a property inspector and conducted thousands of inspections as tenants moved in and out of our properties. He also conducted annual inspections to identify maintenance needs and lease compliance. Nathan has an incredible eye for detail. He believes in consistency and fairness and understands how important the inspection process is to protect a landlord’s investment.
In early 2020, Lee passed away and COVID changed the way businesses operated. At RPM Direct, we made use of technology to address the new needs. Nathan was critical as part of that process, suggesting and helping to design a new system to manage the tenant turnover since we were all working from home and could no longer use our in-office whiteboards to track tasks and statuses. Nathan also implemented a new software that allowed tenants to use an app to document property conditions and minimize how often our staff had to go inside during the height of the pandemic. Even after the risks of the virus subsided, Nathan continued improving our inspection processes by introducing the use of 360 and infrared cameras.
In 2022, several large national property management companies were expanding and three different companies approached me, offering to buy RPM Direct. As I was trying to figure out what life looked like without my husband of 35 years, I decided to sell the company and retire early. The timing worked out for me because soon after stepping away from RPM, I needed to dedicate my time and attention to my mom and mother-in-law during their final days. Meanwhile, Nathan continued his inspection career by performing smoke alarm/safety inspections and HOA inspections. He also completed a program to become a certified home inspector, expanding his knowledge of the systems and structures that make up a home.
Two years later, both Nathan and I realized that we missed having a family business. We missed the goals and the learning and growing and energy and working as a team and serving others and feeling proud of our work and accomplishments. And so….here we are, a few months later, starting a new family business. Bright Leaf Commercial Property Inspections. It’s an exciting new segment of a market that we have been a part of. Lots to learn, lots of opportunities to grow, and lots of potential customers to provide excellent service to. We are energized and excited about this new chapter!!! Our first several planning meetings were at the IHop on Galveston (our first meeting in the photo 😊) and then later we moved on to Smokey Bones, where our favorite waitress took care of us for several months during our business lunches every Monday.
RPM Direct was voted the best property management company in Prince William County for three consecutive years. Many local Realtors referred their clients to us for management or sought our knowledge and expertise when they encountered a challenge with a rental property. We were proud of the service we provided and the reputation we developed. Nathan and I intend to provide that same level of dedication and service to our new client base!!
